Man dies in mudslide as 'danger to life warnings' issued for heavy rain in Scotland

More heavy rain could cause a danger to life and travel disruption with a flood warning in place for parts of Scotland on Thursday.

It comes after a person died in a mudslide on Wednesday and the Met Office says that showers will continue to batter parts of the UK as yellow and amber warnings for rain remain in place for today.

A total of 23 flood warnings are in place with one in Scotland. Rail provider Avanti West Coast warned commuters at about 6.30am that services between Preston and Glasgow/Edinburgh are subject to cancellation due to heavy flooding on the railway between Carlisle and Lockerbie.

It said in a post on X: “All routes north of Preston are currently blocked in both directions.”

Simon Partridge, a forecaster at the Met Office, said there was still “quite a long way to go” until the rain was due to stop, with wet weather expected to continue in the area until Thursday evening.

A yellow weather warning is in place for southern and eastern Scotland until 6pm on Thursday.

Fast flowing or deep floodwater which may cause danger to life is likely, the Met Office warned.

Heavy rainfall may also cause delays and cancellations to public transport services, difficult driving conditions and power cuts, the forecaster said.

Regarding staying safe in wet weather, Mr Partridge said: “Although it may not look too bad when you leave home, it could turn much heavier once you’re out and about, so the best thing is to plan your trips and if you don’t need to go – the best advice is to try and avoid it.

“Keep an eye on your local warnings from the Environment Agency which are just as important as ours as well.”

He added that the forecast for the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend was looking “uncertain” but the weather seemed to be “getting better”.

On Wednesday, North Yorkshire Police said a person died following a mudslide in Carlton-in-Cleveland at around 1.15pm.

In a statement, police said: “We can confirm that one person has sadly died as a result of the incident.

“Our thoughts are with their family and friends during this difficult time.”

The Met Office said the area had seen almost a month’s worth of rain in the past day, with 41.6mm of rain recorded over the last 24 hours in Loftus, a town 20 miles away.

Carlisle in Cumbria experienced the worst of the rainfall, with 65.6mm falling over the previous 24 hours.

Cumbria Police said a number of properties have been affected in the Stockdalewath area, with one property evacuated.

Chief Superintendent Mick Bird said a multi-agency co-ordination group has been set up overnight to deal with localised flooding in the area.

“Emergency services have been responding throughout the night to calls for service following persistent rainfall, which has resulted in flooding in some parts of the county,” he said.

“The flooding is on a small scale and the public can be reassured that the weather forecast is expected to be much more favourable throughout today.

“We do expect some impact to travel within Cumbria with some flood water in parts of the county.”

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